The home helped me as a woman and a mother.
A new start
at the home
Annika (24) and her baby girl moved to the Oulunkylä home from the maternity hospital. Annika, a former drug addict, had been clean but relapsed again towards the end of her pregnancy. She had been very close to her father, who was seriously ill. He died when Annika was six months pregnant. “I was offered a place in the home and I could start substitution treatment. I was given all possible support, the rest was up to me.” The community in the home, personal carers and other mothers all offered their support. “Some said that I’m a natural mother and that they could actually learn from me.” Positive feedback felt good. When she was younger, Annika lived with a violent man and began to think that she could do nothing right. The baby’s father took an active role in the rehabilitation and after a few months he could move into the community. Now the family live in their own home, and Annika and the baby attend the home’s peer group for current and previous residents. The group is important as families of many of the mothers live far away, and all connections to old drug-addict friends had to be severed. “I have a lot of questions that I like to discuss with people who have gone through rehabilitation a couple of years ago. I would say to anyone thinking about coming to a home that if you ask for help, it will be good.”